In Search of Padmé
by darcy.carter
Summary: After encountering the long-lost child of his Jedi Master, Luke and his sister Leia set out with the help of Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian to find information about their mother.
1. Chapter 1

LEILA

I can only just barely remember my father, and only because I have an eidetic memory. I remember being as small as 3 years old. Not many people do. I remember my father crying out to my mother, telling her to grab me and get out, get somewhere far away from here.

"Reyna, grab Leila and get out!" he had called.

My mother picked me up and ran out the back door of our house. I didn't know why we were leaving. I only knew I might never see my father again. My mother ran for so long. We never quite settled. She brought me to a planet far away from anything I'd ever known.

My mother and I wanted to give ourselves new names. My mother became Jeyna Koban. I became her daughter, Leia Koban. It wasn't that much different than my old name.

I always thought my father would come looking for us, but he never did. My lack of a father, even though he had been noble, helped me bond with a boy in town. He longed to leave Tatooine, as did I, though for different reasons. Luke wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to find my father. We talked about running away sometimes, but the plan started to fall apart when it came to finding a ship.

After Luke turned 12, his uncle put him to work on his farm, and I didn't see him for a very long time. My mother had not been herself since my father sent us away, so I often went into the desert for anything I could salvage and sell. I was hiding from sand people when I saw a speeder pull into the valley.

I knew instinctively that it was Luke. I was about to run down into the valley to Luke, then the sand people struck. I wanted to do something, but what could I do? I was just about to run for help when a man appeared and saved Luke before I could even think about trying.

A jedi...I thought as the man rescued my childhood friend, even though Luke was out cold.

I ran down the valley towards the jedi, who was retracting his lightsaber and kneeling down to check on Luke.

"Excuse me!" I cried. I fell down in front of the jedi and checked on Luke.

"Do you know this young man?" asked the jedi.

I nodded.

"And who are you?" he asked.

His voice was comforting and I knew I wouldn't be able to tell him my fake name.

"I'm Leila Kenobi," I said.

It was the first time I had spoken my real name in a while. The jedi stood up suddenly.

He took down his hood. He looked at me very closely. Then he sighed.

"How do you know this young man?" he asked.

"He is my friend, or was, but I hadn't seen him in a very long time."

"And what is his name?"

"His name's Luke. Luke Skywalker."

The jedi sighed.

"Go back home, Leila. I promise I will take good care of Luke."

I nodded. It seemed like second nature for me to trust him. I ran as fast as I could back home. But when I arrived, there was barely a town to run back to. The town was flooded with stormtroopers, and my house was burnt to the ground. I wanted to go back to the jedi and Luke, but Luke would have enough to deal with now that his aunt and uncle were dead, just like my mother.

Making a living on Tatooine wasn't easy, especially for a girl my age. I didn't know what to do. So, after a while, I went back to the valley where I had seen Luke and the jedi. I walked through the valley where I had seen the jedi take Luke to see if he was home. To ask his advice.

There was no one there. I pounded on the door. My mother's death finally hit me, after a month of trying to make it on my own, and I pounded on the jedi's door, crying out in frustration.

"Let me in! Let me in! Please…" I sobbed.

The door clicked open and I fell into the house. I stood up and brushed myself off. I shut the door behind me and wandered through the house. The jedi wasn't there. I sat down in the house. I suddenly saw a figure appear in front of me. He phased into my vision, blue and translucent. It was the jedi.

"Leila," he sighed.

I nodded.

"I'm sorry I'm in your house," I sputtered through my tears.

"No, Leila," laughed the jedi sorrowfully, "I am sorry. For there is much I have not told you."

"Besides your name?" I laughed.

The jedi shook his head.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Father?" I gasped.

He nodded.

"I'm sorry that I sent you and Raina away. Anakin was after me, and I needed to protect you."

"I understand, Father," I sighed.

Father smiled.

"I am glad to hear you say that, Leila. Underneath that cloth over there is a box. Look inside the box. It is something your mother left behind when she left."

"Mother is dead, father," I sighed.

"I know. As am I. The box, Leila."

I lifted back the cloth to see a wooden box, carved with my mother's initials: RJK. I traced my fingers over the etching, saying my mother's name to myself.

"Reyna Jinn Kenobi."

"Open the box, Leila."

I opened the metal latch to the box and looked inside. I had seen this object many times before, and I had seen it given to my father before he sent us away.

"Do you remember what your mother said before she left with you?" asked Father.

I nodded. Father had been handed Mother's lightsaber. Then she had placed me on her hip.

"Bring it back to me, Obi-Wan," I repeated.

"When Anakin turned to the dark side, I forgot all about my promise to Reyna. My promise to give her the saber back. So now I give it to you, Leila."

I took the saber from the box and held it upright. I extended the blade. It glowed bright green, and it was just like I remembered. I sheathed the lightsaber and looked back at the spirit of my father. He was smiling at me.

"Father, is Luke alright?" I asked.

Father nodded.

"He is with the Rebellion, and will do just fine."

"Would you do me a favor, Father?"

He nodded.

"If you see Luke...would you tell him to come back to Tatooine?"

"For what?" asked my father.

"For me," I sighed, "I can't stay here anymore, and I have no means to get off Tatooine. He always wanted to be a pilot. So can you tell him to come back for me, Father?"

He nodded, and the manifestation of his spirit glimmered away. I sat there in my father's house, eating what was left of his food, and I only remembered later that Luke did not know me as Leila Kenobi. He knew me as Leia Koban. I doubted he would come back for me anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

LUKE

I was sitting in a room with Leia after my father died. Even though he had done horrible things, it was like the pain of losing my family all over again. And I knew he was good. He had told me as much. I had hung my head when my sister nudged my shoulder.

"Luke! Look!"

I slowly raised my head to see Obi-Wan, the way he would come to me when I needed him, and I certainly needed him in that moment.

"Luke. You must go back to Tatooine."

"Why would I go back there now, Obi-Wan?" I asked, exasperated.

"Someone waits there for you."

"Who?" asked Leia.

"A girl named Leila."

"I never knew anyone named Leila on Tatooine."

"You did," sighed Obi-Wan, "and you must go back for her. She resides at my old house in the desert and has been maintaining it to the best of her ability in my absence. Go, Luke. Go back for Leila."

"Should we go back?" asked Leia.

"He's never turned me wrong before," I said.

Leia patted me on the shoulder.

"Do you want me to ask Han-"

"No...new people might frighten this Leila person, she's clearly been living on her own for a while. Are you sure you want to come?"

Leia nodded.

"And I think Han should too. Neither of you have been to Tatooine in a while. We should have each other's backs."

"Leia, I can handle myself."

"It's not a matter of your independence, Luke. I know jedi knights can handle themselves in a pinch. That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried that you don't remember Leila. It's not like you, forgetting someone connected with Obi-Wan."

I sighed. She was right. And I knew I couldn't argue with her. I had to go back to Tatooine, and I had to bring Han and my sister with me.

LEILA

I heard a pounding at my door. My mother had been forbidding me from trying to use the Force since we left. Now she was gone, and I had tried to train myself, knowing there was no one else left to teach me.

"We know you're in there Leila, open the damn door!" called a gruff voice.

I drew my mother's lightsaber and held out my hand. I unhinged my locks with the Force and the gruff man and a dark-haired woman entered my house. The gruff man was pointing a blaster at me. Then I saw him emerge from between them: Luke.

He was taller and more weathered than I remembered, clothed in black, unlike the dark-haired woman and the gruff man.

"Leia?" he asked, confused.

I sheathed my saber and reattached it to my belt. Father had succeeded. Luke had come back for me.

"Luke!" I cried.

Luke ran towards me wearing a confused grin on his face.

"I'm looking for someone named Leila, an old friend sent me to look for her, but I don't know why."

I sighed. I knew why. It was because my father had asked him too.

"Luke...Obi-Wan Kenobi sent you here."

"Yes."

He seemed surprised that I knew who Obi-Wan was.

"He sent you here because you needed to go back for Leila."

"Yes."

He only seemed more surprised.

"Luke, when my mother and I came to this system, we changed our names so the Sith would not come looking for us."

"Why were they looking for _you_?" growled the gruff man, his hand still on his blaster.

"Because I am Leila Kenobi. And I grew up with Luke. I asked my father for a favor. That favor was to ask Luke if he would come back for me."

I advanced past Luke towards the gruff man.

"All I wanted was to get off this planet and see Luke again. So I asked my father, my _dead_ father, who I hadn't seen since I was 3, for help, you emotionally stunted billy goat!"

I walked over and sat down on the bench where I had first seen my mother's lightsaber and sat down.

"I seriously doubted if he'd even remember me. After my mother died, Luke was my only friend in the world, even though I hadn't seen him in 5 years. And I never thought Luke would really come back for me."

Luke walked over to the bench and sat down next to me. He put his arm around me and I leant up against his shoulder, my arms crossed.

"Of course I came back. If I had known it was you I would have come sooner."

I smiled up at the gruff man and the dark haired woman.

LUKE

Leia Koban. Of course I remembered Leia. When I first saw my sister's transmission, I was reminded of my childhood friend, Leia Koban. I felt that her name was actually Leila when we entered the home and saw her, but I needed confirmation. And now I had it. I knew she was my old friend, and that she spoke the truth, that her real name was Leila Kenobi and she was Obi-Wan's daughter.

"Leila, this is my sister, Leia," I said, still holding Leila close to me.

Leia nodded politely.

"And this is my friend Han Solo."

Han awkwardly waved, still keeping his hand on his blaster. He could be a cautious fellow when he cared to be.

"C'mon, Luke. Chewie gets nervous when he's alone too long."

I moved my hand to Leila's inside shoulder and led her outside Obi-Wan's old house. When we boarded the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca stood in front of Leila for a few moments. She looked intrigued but a little frightened.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you," I said.

"Unless you beat him at chess," called Han as he and Leia moved past Chewie onto the ship.

Leila looked up at me confused. Chewbacca followed Han and Leia and I led Leila to a separate part of the ship. I sat her down at a table, I knew she'd never been off Tatooine before.

"When did you know Obi-Wan Kenobi was your father?" I asked.

"I always knew," Leila responded matter-of-factly, "I still remember the day my mother and I left."

"How old were you?" I asked.

She held up three fingers. Leila had an eidetic memory, she remembered names and places like few people could.

"I'm sorry about Owen and Beru," she said.

"I'm sorry about your mother," I responded.

"Didn't you ever hear about Ben Kenobi? The recluse who lived in the hills?"

Leila shrugged.

"You do enough running and every rumor seems to good to be true. It wasn't until your droid ran away that I saw him alive."

"You were there?"

"Watching, from the hill. I was about to run for help when my father arrived."

"I had no idea. I just lost touch with you after I started doing work for my uncle."

Leila nodded, she knew that. I felt bad because I _had_ forgotten her, in a way, or forgotten about her. Being forgotten about hurt Leila in a different, very acute, way, because she never forgot anything.


	3. Chapter 3

LEILA

I hadn't seen Luke in years and I couldn't have been happier. Nothing felt safer to me than when he had his arm around me in my father's house, but it didn't seem worth mentioning. I was lonely. It would pass.

One of the things that made Luke such a good friend to me when we were younger was that he always said just what he meant, nothing more, nothing less. He wasn't really simple-minded, but being around him had always seemed simple to me. As easy as counting to three. Far easier than saying my name.

"Leila, why did your father send you to Tatooine?" asked Luke.

I shook my head.

"My father didn't send me anywhere," I began, "he just wanted me to be safe. He told my mother and I to run, while he did his best to hide us from the man who would become Darth Vader."

"My father," sighed Luke, "I'm sorry."

Luke was, beyond all else, empathetic. He had no control over his father's actions over 16 years ago. And yet, he still felt responsible. Luke had become responsible, and it was strange for me. We had known each other since childhood, it was like watching yourself grow up in a mirror.

"Luke, if it weren't for you, I never would have rediscovered my father."

Luke was shaking. I put my hand over his to steady him. He looked over at me.

"Leila…He's dead."

He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed my hand. I sensed someone next to me,

figuring it was just Luke, energy flowing through Luke into my hands through his. Then I heard a voice.

"Luke. You kept your promise."

Luke ripped his hands away from mine and leapt to the side, gripping the table with his right hand and scratching the back of his neck with his right. I put my chin in my palm and sighed. Then I looked over at my father.

"Of course I did, Obi-Wan. But I didn't know who she was when I went back for her."

My father nodded. I looked over at Luke. He looked at my father with reverence. I

smiled at Luke and caught my father raise his eyebrow at me out of the corner of my eye.

My father phased out of vision as he told Luke that he was proud of him. He took a final moment to smile at me and tell me he loved me. Luke was visibly upset. He missed my father very much. He stood up and stormed out of the room past his sister. She looked back at him, smirking, then turned her gaze towards me.

"Miss Kenobi. Mind if I join you?"

LEIA

Leila nervously shook her head. I smiled, but I worried about Luke, especially around people from Tatooine. I sat down across the table from her. She seemed intimidated by me. That was fine by me. I was pretty intimidating.

"Could you call me Leila?" she asked.

I nodded. Fragments of my upbringing as a politician came up every once in awhile. It was troubling. I acquiesced to Leila's request anyway.

"You grew up with Luke? On Tatooine?" I asked.

Leila nodded.

"My mother and I had to leave home when I was younger."

"Because of my father," I sighed.

Leila smiled.

"What?" I asked confused, and frankly, a little offended.

"You and Luke both do that. You take responsibility for your father's actions, even though the things he did weren't inside of your control."

"And what do you think of that?" I asked, prepared to be very offended.

"It commends both of you," said Leila, much to my surprise.

"It displays honor, Leia. A willingness to accept responsibility and an understanding of what your duties to the galaxy are."

"You think me feeling sorry for the victims of the actions of my deceased Sith lord birth father commends...honor?"

Leila nodded. Like Ben, she was always calm and respectful, no matter the situation. Now that I thought of it, Leila was like her father in many ways. I could also see how she had grown up with Luke.

"I am glad that it was you who had the good fortune to grow up with my brother."

Leila laughed.

"I also had the questionable fortune to fall in love with your brother."

I sighed, my heart going out to Leila. Luke was as clueless as a Wookie in a barbershop when it came to those things.

LEILA

I wasn't sure why I'd said that. I guess I just found Leia trustworthy and easy to talk to. I wasn't denying I was in love with Luke. That fact had become plainly obvious to everyone...except Luke. I'd known Luke for almost my whole life, and I felt like I was in love with him before I even knew what it meant.

"I'm sorry I told you that...I just met you," I sighed.

Leia shook her head.

"It's alright, Leila. You've been on your own for some time. I know what that's like."

"On my own?"

"In Ben's house, after he died."

I sighed. It was hard, living in my father's house, without any real semblance of who he was besides my memories. My mother refused to talk about him. She thought the Sith would sense it and find us.

"My mother was so paranoid. And even though she loved my father I knew a part of her wished he wouldn't find us. She was already at odds with my being friends with Luke, but Owen and Beru assured her that he had no contact with his father, and she relented. They never quite trusted her or me for that matter, they connected my father with Anakin. I always thought my father would come looking for me. By the time I finally found him, it was too late."

I didn't realize I was crying until I was. Leia had moved to sit next to me and put her arm on my shoulder. I saw the pilot out of the corner of my eye and prayed that he wouldn't talk.

"Hey kid, sorry about your dad. But Luke came back for you, even if he didn't know it was you and only came because the old man asked him to."

He had a way of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I broke away from the table and ran. As my feet hit the metal of the ship's floor, I felt that the panel had a compartment beneath. I opened the panel and climbed below. I couldn't believe Han had said that to me.

I just wanted to be alone.


End file.
